As Lieutenant Choi Yutae stared at Corporal Jin Seoncheol's profile, his eyes gradually widened. His brow drew together.
The camera slowly moved in on him.
Why is he smiling?
Did I see that wrong?
Was I imagining it?
That was exactly the kind of expression Lieutenant Choi Yutae wore. He wasn't sure. He needed time to think. But the situation was far too urgent for that. His brain, soaked in panic, immediately began feeding him excuses.
'You must have imagined it. More importantly, the men need to get under cover as fast as possible.'
At that moment, the camera that had been filming him from up close pulled back.
Lieutenant Choi Yutae shouted again at the half-crazed soldiers.
"Aaaaaargh!!!"
"You sons of bitches!! Fire again! Try firing again!!"
"Show your damn heads!! I'll blow them off!!"
Then he screamed once more.
"You lunatics!! Don't move forward!! Run inside the school!!"
After that, he snapped his head toward Corporal Jin Seoncheol, who was on the verge of crying again, and barked out a fierce order.
"Jin Seoncheol! What the hell are you doing if you're not dragging Staff Sergeant Nam?!"
Corporal Jin Seoncheol's lips trembled as he stammered out an answer.
"Ah—ah, yes, sir!"
That was the usual him.
Yes.
I must have seen wrong.
There's no way that bastard was smiling.
By the time Lieutenant Choi Yutae came to that conclusion, Corporal Jin Seoncheol had grabbed hold of the fallen Staff Sergeant Nam Taeoh and was slowly dragging him.
The man was practically already dead.
His eyes had lost focus.
His breathing was shallow.
Most of the blood in his body had already poured out.
And yet, standing right at the edge of death, for some reason, Nam Taeoh still called out to the person dragging him toward the school with such effort.
"...Jin Seoncheol."
The camera moved to the side of the two men.
At the faint voice, Corporal Jin Seoncheol lowered his head. Fear filled his face.
But that only lasted for an instant.
One second, maybe two.
Then the face he wore as he looked down at Staff Sergeant Nam Taeoh changed again.
The devil returned.
A smile of enjoyment.
Or interest.
Summoning up every bit of strength he had left, Nam Taeoh opened his mouth again.
"Who… are you…"
Even while dragging the man's upper body, Corporal Jin Seoncheol was subtly pushing the arrow lodged in his stomach a little deeper.
The corners of his mouth kept lifting higher and higher.
Then he leaned down and whispered into Nam Taeoh's ear.
"This place is fucking fun. Sweet and salty."
──────────
Around then, among the many people gathered and watching the actors, the suited men standing behind Director Kwon Gitaek quietly murmured to one another.
"Kang Woojin's acting really is impressive."
The tone wasn't critical.
It was genuine acknowledgment.
"Impressive? No, this kind of facial acting is going to be talked about in acting circles for years."
"Exactly. Expressing a split personality with nothing but facial shifts… that's already crazy, but the fact that it's subtle enough to be almost missed makes it even more insane."
"To be honest, this is my first time seeing Woojin act in person, and it's shocking. Assistant Manager Park in Profiler Hanryang was impressive too, but… how should I put it? It feels like his performance is too large for the work itself to contain."
"Like how someone's real face is several times better in person than on screen."
"Yes, exactly that."
After a brief silence, Director Kwon Gitaek's signal rang out across the entire set again.
"Cut. Okay. We'll reset for Lieutenant Choi's angle and go again."
In the end, the scene was filmed three times in total. It wasn't that the actors were lacking.
Director Kwon Gitaek had simply become greedier than usual.
After all, it was Staff Sergeant Nam Taeoh—
or rather, Jeon Woochang's final scene.
Soon—
"Cut, okay. Woochang, you worked hard."
Director Kwon Gitaek rose to his feet and applauded. The entire staff followed suit.
That meant Jeon Woochang's role in The Island of the Missing had come to an end.
Because of that, the heavily built Jeon Woochang got to his feet awkwardly and scratched his head.
"Hahaha. Thank you. But this feels weird. I'm kind of disappointed that I'm the only one wrapping up."
The image was bizarre. A giant muscle-bound man was talking while an arrow still stuck out of his stomach.
In any case, after handing the prop rifle to a staff member, the actors—including Ryu Jungmin—gave Jeon Woochang a thumbs-up.
"You worked hard, Woochang."
"Damn, going out with an arrow like that leaves an impact."
"What do you mean?"
"It really sticks in your memory, doesn't it?"
Naturally, Kang Woojin, still wearing his poker face, offered him a small greeting as well.
"You worked hard."
Jeon Woochang met Woojin's calm eyes and gave a weak grin.
"No, seriously, Woojin. Did you pick today to go all out or what? Your acting was insane. At the end, when you looked down at me, I got genuinely freaked out."
"Did you?"
Woojin's reply, full of his usual concept, was calm on the outside.
Inside, though, he was fighting desperately not to laugh.
'The arrow! Tell him to pull the arrow out before talking! Ah, damn it, that arrow wobbling around in his stomach is killing me.'
At that moment, Kang Woojin frowned without realizing it.
It was because of the smell.
A nameless rotten stench filled the entire school building they were using as a set. The reason was simple. At Director Kwon Gitaek's instruction, the staff had sprayed fish sauce all over the school.
No matter how much it was for realism, the smell was way too strong.
The actors aside from Woojin, however, didn't seem especially bothered by it. To them, the smell was probably faint.
Woojin concluded to himself that it was likely because of his cooking-related senses.
Just then—
"Ah, Woojin."
Jeon Woochang and Kim Iwon approached after noticing his expression. It was Jeon Woochang who spoke quietly.
"You're feeling a bit bothered, huh?"
Feeling bothered?
About what?
What was this muscle-head suddenly talking about?
Whatever the exact meaning was, Jeon Woochang seemed to have read dissatisfaction in Woojin's current expression. It was a minor misunderstanding, but Woojin didn't bother asking.
"..."
Jeon Woochang tilted his chin toward Director Kwon Gitaek's monitor area. There were a lot of people in suits gathered around him.
"That, right there. They can say it was a scheduled visit from the start, but anyone can tell they came to verify you."
Woojin's serious gaze moved in that direction.
Ah—
So that was what he meant.
To Kang Woojin, those people had barely registered at all. When he first arrived on set, all he had thought was, 'Why are there so many men in suits here?'
Still, in response, he gave an answer that mixed honesty with bravado.
"I'm not particularly concerned about it."
"Come on, still."
Ha Yura, brushing dust off her short hair, joined the conversation. For reference, the short hair was a wig.
"It's definitely a verification visit. I heard there were only supposed to be five of them at most, but there are almost ten now. That's one hundred percent because of the declaration you made."
"Right, noona? What is that even supposed to mean? They all come over in a pack for no reason and just mess with Woojin's mood."
──────────
Wait a second.
Mood?
As far as Kang Woojin was concerned, his condition was close to perfect. His long stretch of acting as Corporal Jin Seoncheol had added more detail to the character, and recently he had even felt his stamina improve considerably.
He guessed martial arts training was probably the reason.
That was when the tall Ryu Jungmin walked over.
"Regardless of them, all we have to do is keep acting the way we've been acting. They're probably watching things like that too."
After muttering that, Ryu Jungmin looked at the expressionless Kang Woojin and gave a short smile.
"Though Woojin doesn't really seem like the type to get shaken by something like this. More importantly, let's look over the rehearsal for the next scene. Woochang, are you heading out right away?"
"No way. I'm watching everything before I leave. Actually, aren't we having a dinner party tonight?! It's my last day!"
Director Kwon Gitaek, meanwhile, watched the actors on the monitor with close attention.
As he looked at Woojin's deeply cynical face, he was slightly surprised.
'You can actually see his acting growing in volume. The way he handles the gaze and facial expressions that signal the split personality has become more flexible, and the emotional pull has gained even more stickiness. His movements are detailed, yet somehow disciplined and violent at the same time.'
Had he practiced acting?
No, he shouldn't have had the time for that.
And yet Kang Woojin's performance had clearly become even tighter and more complete. The raw destructive power of his acting was similar, but now it felt as though he kept adding just the right amount of flesh in exactly the necessary places.
That was how it looked in the eyes of a master like Director Kwon Gitaek.
'It's almost as if… he buys the abilities he needs and grafts them directly into himself.'
──────────
After that—
A new year had begun, but the entertainment industry became even busier than it had been at the end of the old one. New Year specials, planned broadcasts, parties, events—everywhere in entertainment was the same.
On top of that, once the new year truly began, the broadcasting world was swept by bloodshed. Many shows disappeared under restructuring, while others managed to survive.
[Entertainment Industry] Five Variety Shows to Disappear This Year Alone… Broadcasting Networks Sharpen Their Knives
Even so, celebrities—including actors—had no time to enjoy the new year.
For them, this was peak season.
At times like this, forgotten entertainers could briefly rise again, become a topic, or get put back on life support. It happened often.
But this year, it looked difficult for anyone else to seize attention or dominate the issue cycle.
Why?
Because the power Kang Woojin had shown at the end of the year was simply too overwhelming.
[Star Talk] Kang Woojin Sets a New Record in Korean Entertainment—Why His Eight-Award Sweep Will Be Hard to Break]
[Kang Woojin's Eight Trophies Push His Issue Power Even Higher… What Kind of Bomb Will He Drop This Year?]
Winning eight awards in one debut year was the kind of record that would remain in Korean entertainment history for a very long time.
And Kang Woojin had engraved that record in his very first year after debuting.
Even though the new year had begun, his momentum rose several times over.
If someone searched his name, the news articles were being updated minute by minute.
[Issue Is] Kang Woojin Remains Firmly in First Place in 'Brand Power']
That unbelievable level of attention was reflected in every figure tied to him. The growth in his SNS and fan club numbers was already enough to make people shake their heads, but the place where the most explosive increase happened was, without question, the Kang Woojin's Alter Ego channel.
[Channel Name: Kang Woojin's Alter Ego]
[Subscribers: 9.52 million]
[Videos: 35]
Before anyone knew it, the channel was staring down ten million subscribers.
More than half of the top ten trending videos on YouTube at the time were Woojin's.
Most of them were clips of his insane moments at the award ceremonies or his interviews.
['10 Million Subscribers Just Ahead'—Kang Woojin, Set to Film with Giants and Major Productions This Year, Sees His Value Blast Through the Ceiling]
──────────
Meanwhile, Kang Woojin himself was buried in filming for The Island of the Missing.
"Woojin! Stand by!! Stand by!!!"
The Island of the Missing, which had gone into production back in September of the previous year, had now entered the middle-to-late stage of filming. As a result, Director Kwon Gitaek and the production team were pushing even harder.
[Master Director Kwon Gitaek's The Island of the Missing Nears Final Stages of Filming… When Will It Release?]
That meant time was melting away.
And as it did, everything related to Kang Woojin moved forward in lockstep.
When January 4 ended and the 5th arrived, a new video was uploaded to the wildly surging Kang Woojin's Alter Ego channel.
This time, it wasn't a cover song.
It was cooking content.
The guest was Hwarin.
The connection between her and Kang Woojin ran deep. Since Boy Friend, there had been several minor scandals surrounding them, and Kang Woojin had even saved her during the awl attacker incident. On top of that, they were both members of Our Table.
Maybe because of all that, the video featuring guest Hwarin recorded an enormous number of views within a single day of being uploaded.
[What Do You Want to Eat? (ep1) Guest / Hwarin | Kang Woojin's Alter Ego]
[Views: 6.82 million]
6.8 million.
There were all kinds of reasons the video drew attention, of course, but more than anything, it proved just how enormous the current influence of the Kang Woojin's Alter Ego channel had become.
But the channel did not stop there.
Because on the very next day, January 6, another new video was uploaded right away.
[Cooking Avatar + Cover (ep0, teaser) Guest / Miley Cara | Kang Woojin's Alter Ego]
It was a teaser for content with Miley Cara, the global superstar whose visit to Korea near the end of last year had caused chaos all on its own.
Since it was closer to a preview than a full episode, the runtime was short.
Just over a minute.
The fact that Kara had insisted on appearing only on the Kang Woojin's Alter Ego channel had already become an issue several times over, and because she was Miley Cara, the firepower behind the teaser was on another level.
[Views: 3.12 million]
Just four hours after upload, it had already passed three million views.
[Online reactions]
[User: It's finally here!!!!!]
[User: What???!!! Is it true that Oppa Woojin and Kara sang a duet?!?!?!?!]
[User: LMAOOOOOO Kang Woojin's Alter Ego is absolutely insane right now]
[User: Just upload the duet song already… I'm losing my mind…]
[User: Wait, but why did Kara only appear on Kang Woojin's channel??? Does anyone know?]
[User: LMAOOOOOO the idea of Kang Woojin controlling Kara while she cooks sounds insanely fun]
[User: First Hwarin… and now even Kara… this is supposed to be Kang Woojin's hobby channel, so why is the scale universe-level???]
The reaction exploded.
What stood out was that Japanese and English comments were starting to increase rapidly as well.
──────────
Then came January 7.
Thursday morning.
Kang Woojin, fully focused on filming for The Island of the Missing, could be found in his hotel room in Buyeo.
It was around ten in the morning.
He had already finished getting ready to head out, and aside from that, his appearance was fairly natural. For some reason, however, he was staring down at his phone with his eyes opened absurdly wide.
"Wow… no, wow. This is seriously insane."
There was none of his usual posturing in that reaction.
It was just Kang Woojin himself, overwhelmed in pure amazement.
The reason was simple.
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million… billion?"
What he was looking at was his internet banking account.
He had been too busy to really pay attention, but when he finally checked it that day, the amount sitting there made his mouth fall open. Of course, since becoming an actor, Woojin had already seen money in the hundreds of millions before.
But this was on an entirely different level.
"Th-this is insane."
The sources of the money were probably all over the place. There were too many to even list simply. Appearance fees from his projects, of course, but also the massive success of Drug Dealer, all kinds of schedules, YouTube revenue, and more. There were even parts that had not been settled yet.
If he included the future projects that still had money coming in, the total would have been enough to make someone pass out.
Wouldn't it easily be in the tens of billions?
This was what Kang Woojin had achieved in just one year.
For an ordinary rookie actor, it was impossible.
Most actors needed at least three to five years before they earned real money. Probably not just in Korea, but in the whole world, only Kang Woojin could have done this so quickly.
No wonder it felt unreal even to him.
'This is seriously unbelievable. No, wow—damn. What am I even supposed to do with this money?'
Maybe because it was an amount he had never expected to hear about, let alone see, Woojin could not even begin to imagine how he was supposed to use it.
That was when—
Knock knock.
A knock reached his ears just as his excitement was peaking.
Startled, Kang Woojin instantly snapped back into full poker-face mode. Soon after, Choi Sunggeon poked his head into the room. He had come to pick Woojin up.
Maintaining the calmest expression possible, Kang Woojin left the room with him and headed toward the filming set.
Around the time they reached the elevator, Choi Sunggeon spoke casually.
"Oh, right, Woojin. You know that apartment? The one you were supposed to get through the contract payment. All the paperwork is done now. It's yours."
Kang Woojin's wealth had just gained a residence in Samseong-dong.
──────────
At the same time, in Tokyo, Japan.
Inside the back seat of a luxury sedan moving down the road sat a familiar old man.
It was Chairman Hideki, dressed in a neat suit, with streaks of white even in his eyebrows.
He had been looking out the window, but then suddenly asked his secretary, Riri, in Japanese.
"Was it today? Did they put the article up?"
Riri, who turned and bowed her head, seemed to know exactly what he meant and replied immediately.
"Yes, Chairman."
"Hm."
Chairman Hideki slowly nodded and turned on his phone. He opened Japan's top portal site, tapped into the news section, and immediately found the article he wanted.
[Breaking News: A Kashihi Group Affiliate to Use Korean Actor Kang Woojin as an Advertising Model? An 'Unusual Event' Has Occurred]
It was the first Korean actor model in the history of the Kashihi Group.